Behind the Mask
by Wylrin
Summary: Jason catches a glimpse of what lies behind the mask of Michael Myers.


Something tells Jason he was never intended to see what lurked behind that expressionless white mask. But one day he did, regardless.

Teenagers had come once again to his camp despite the countless fatalities that had occurred there. Really, when would people learn? It would seem that the idiocy of not only the teenagers themselves but whoever condoned their going to Camp Crystal Lake was surpassed by none. Their stupidity aside, they had come once again in all their numbers and with all their disgusting displays of what they might consider "affection." Jason didn't see it as anything so remotely like that. No, to him, it was merely the action which had allowed his demise. But more than that, the hockey masked killer was a child at heart, and no child should have to endure people fornicating on their grounds.

It was with his usual attentive eye that he watched them from afar, but unlike most times, he was not alone. Another figure was standing alongside him, its white mask somehow blending in with the woodland surroundings. That was something that never ceased to amaze Jason, how such a bright, ghostly white could go completely unnoticed. He supposed that was just in the Shape's nature, to blend in regardless of what its surroundings were like.

Yes, _it_ , not _he_. Jason didn't consider Michael to be a man, despite its body shape being clearly masculine. No, _he_ was a word used to describe the boys that came and sometimes fought back against him when he attacked them. _He_ was a word used to describe Daddy...

He shook his head sharply, refusing to think of that. But no, Michael fit neither of these categories. He had considered calling it a _she_ , then. _She_ was a word used to describe Mommy. _She_ was a word that he associated with safety and love. He couldn't say if he got a sense of _love_ from the Shape, but safety, definitely. He'd never felt safer with anyone who wasn't Mommy before, and considering that Mommy was practically his entire world, that said a lot. But _she_ was also a word he associated with gentle and kind, two things Michael most certainly was not. So he'd settled on the pronoun _it_ , for the thing behind the white mask was something that was neither male nor female. It was purely and simply something altogether... different.

 _ _We will take care of them. We always do.__ Even its thought-voice seemed gender neutral. Or, more accurately, like many voices speaking at once, or no voices at all, instead a deafening silence that seemed so contradictory yet somehow worked. Jason didn't pretend to know how to describe it.

He nodded in response to the Shape's mute words, his grasp on his machete tightening in anticipation.

 _ _They will not live to see tomorrow__.

* * *

Indeed, none of them would live to see the morning sun. Jason and Michael made quick work of them, all except for one young woman.

Jason wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first. It seemed as though the Shape were almost going... _easy_ on her. Its attacks with its knife were made to maim, not kill, and as she would run from it, it would follow her with unhurried footsteps, a slow deliberateness in its steps that made him think that it was savoring the moment. He had no such sense of enjoyment. He just wanted these teens _dead._

When Jason moved past Michael to just finish it already, he was grabbed roughly by the shoulder. The look in the Shape's eyes was indiscernible, but something had changed in its thought-voice.

 _ _No__ , it said. __She's mine.__

 _ _Then just do it! Why are you playing with her?__

There was silence for several long moments, before it eventually answered, __She looks like Laurie__.

Jason didn't know who this Laurie was, but something seemingly triggered a memory in his head. He remembered the photo Michael had handed to him once, the picture that of a young woman with long blonde hair, the woman Michael had been looking for. Yes, the girl _did_ look rather similar, but what did it matter? So long as they died, that was all Jason cared about.

Evidently it was different for Michael, for he continued to stalk his prey unhurriedly. She had barricaded the doors, but that proved no trouble for the Shape, who merely punched his way though as if the solid wood were made of paper. Once inside, there was nothing but silence. The girl had hidden herself away, evidently. Not that it mattered. The Boogieman would soon find her.

Its footfalls were as slow and deliberate as always as it looked about, turning its head very slowly to examine its surroundings. Jason huffed impatiently. What was the point of this little game?

Evidently the Shape got something out of it, however, for it continued to flick its eyes about despite there being only a few places the girl could have hidden. It walked slowly past the bed, coming to a stop at the foot of the bed. It checked underneath, its black eyes scanning the darkness beneath it before straightening back up.

It checked the closet next, and the closet is where she was. In a mad rush of adrenaline, she launched herself at it the moment it opened the door. They struggled for a few moments. Given the Shape's strength, the struggle did not last long. During that short period of time, however, something very different happened.

The girl reached forward for its mask, tearing it off its head.

The moment its face was exposed, an unholy rage seemed to gleam in its eyes. Whatever game it had had planned for the girl was ended prematurely as it took the girl's head in its hands and squeezed. She screamed, but it was not enough to dull the sound of her skull cracking as its hands slowly crushed her. When the awful shriek finally died out and her body went limp, it dropped the body carelessly onto the floor.

And in that moment, it seemed to just remember that it had company. It whirled around to face Jason, and in that moment, Jason got his first good look at the unmasked Michael.

It was nothing like he expected. Admittedly, he wasn't sure _what_ he had expected, but this sure as hell wasn't it. Its face was... __angelic__ , far unlike his own hideously contorted one. It was a pretty face, which struck Jason as somewhat odd, because he'd never thought anyone pretty before.

Not a moment after that face was revealed to him, however, Michael seemed hellbent on hiding it back away, slipping his mask back into place.

 _ _No!__ implored Jason, and even he wasn't sure why.

The look he got from those shadowy eyes behind the mask could only be described as enraged. It made Jason falter for but a second, but he was getting more and more used to these looks from the Shape.

 _ _You look... nice,__ Jason told it, as if by means of explanation for his earlier outburst.

Michael didn't seem to know what to think at that... compliment? After a moment, however, it shook its head fiercely, making to leave the cabin without a word.

Jason stopped it with a hand on its shoulder, which was immediately slapped away. If the look in its eyes had been enraged before, they were downright murderous now. Still, Jason was seemingly unaffected and he went on to ask, __Why do you hide your face?__

 _ _Why do you hide yours?__

 _ _Because I'm hideous,__ Jason told it bluntly. __Because the other kids made fun of me and drowned me because of the way I looked.__

Something seemed to soften in the Shape's eyes, but only for a split second, for Jason's thought-voice continued, __But you're not. So why do you hide your face?__

 _I wore a mask that night_ , said Michael. __So now I always wear a mask, to make things perfect.__ Jason didn't have the slightest idea what the Shape was talking about, but it seemed that this was the only answer he was going to get, for it stalked off without another word.


End file.
